Renovations are a necessary part of the hotel and motel industry. The reasons can be either to renovate old buildings/furniture, to reposition the brand, or to modernize and improve customer experiences. Renovating is not as easy as it appears and most hotel renovations projects fail due to improper planning and/or higher project costs. Owners are unable to achieve their expected Return on Interest (ROI) and Return on Value (ROV). This can be attributed to the lack of a strategic and quantified approach. To assist owners to successfully conduct renovations, here are 12 key aspects that should be considered:
- Clearly define the vision or purpose of the renovation along with the scope of the renovation. Find the right renovation partner for successful project completion.
- Establish a robust communication strategy, which acts as a platform to record and convey timely updates or changes to stakeholders, contractors, project managers, suppliers, and vendors. This helps to ensure that the end product is as desired and falls within planned budgets.
- Set the budget and define the ROI and ROV expectation. Perform thorough market analysis to understand the brand positioning. Perform analysis to identify the magnitude and impact of expected results.
- Define Key Performance Indicators and metrics to measure the renovation project execution efficiency and to plot the degree of deviation in the strategy.
- Conduct value management to uncover the best possible equilibrium of renovation gains in accordance with the overall budget. This can be a prime factor to control costs and ensure ROV.
- Discuss with project teams and define reasonable schedules and make sure teams adhere to these schedules and update work status regularly. If any unexpected delays happen, conduct a thorough analysis, and make sure it will have a minimal impact on the overall project costs.
- Collaborate with stakeholder, contractors, vendors, and all those involved in the project to conduct an in-depth study to predict and mitigate the potential risks.
- Make sure to communicate to guests about the renovation work and educate them with all the safety standards.
- Follow market trends and elicit customer feedback on best customer experience practices and incorporate these inputs into the renovation project.
- Decor products are one of the crucial factors leading customer experiences, so make sure to have an experienced design professional to design interiors or procure products that speak and elevate brand value.
- Furniture is a critical component of the hotel industry. But, to ensure environmental security, in the United States, EPA has defined material standards to reduce carbon footprint. While procuring make sure you refer to those standards without fail.
- Safety and security are the most neglected thing in renovation projects, neglecting which can result in severe injury or loss of life of a worker or the one who visits the site. So make sure people who visit the renovation site strictly adhere to all safety standards.